Whole Foods Market ready to open in Upper St. Clair
South Hills residents who are ready to greet customers at the new Whole Foods Market include, from left, Jenny Rump of Upper St. Clair, Michael Hendricks of Mt. Lebanon and Tavis Murray of Dormont.
The main entrance to Whole Foods Market in Upper St. Clair is almost complete.
Ever since he took the lead in opening the first Pittsburgh-area Whole Foods Market nearly 15 years ago, Casey Dill has heard the same question.
“From Day One, people were asking us, ‘When are you going to open up in the South Hills?'” he said.
The answer is Jan. 25, when a morning bread-breaking ceremony marks the opening of the new location at 111 Siena Drive in Upper St. Clair.
The 40,000-square-foot store, construction on which started in 2015, represents the first phase of Siena at St. Clair, a mix of retail, offices and restaurants at the former site of the Consol Energy headquarters across from South Hills Village Mall.
“A lot of my neighbors have asked when we’re going to be opening, and there’s a lot of excitement,” said Tavis Murray of Dormont.
A 10-year veteran of Whole Foods Market, Murray has worked in both of the company’s other Allegheny County stores, in East Liberty and Pine Township. He joins the South Hills crew as associate team leader of Whole Body, the department that carries vitamins, supplements and personal care products such as shampoo and sunscreen.
“Being a longtime resident of the South Hills,” he said, “I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to come down here and serve the community I love so much.”
Mt. Lebanon resident Michael Hendricks, the new store’s culinary team leader, has worked for the company since the East Liberty store opened in 2002.
“My neighbors have been on me for years about, why isn’t Whole Foods out here yet?” he said. “So it’s wonderful to finally deliver a store to them.”
The culinary team is responsible for the wide variety of ready-made items and baked goods that will be available, all meeting the Whole Foods Markets standards of containing no artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors or preservatives.
“I helped open up Wexford,” bakery associate team leader Jenny Rump said about the 2012 start of the Pine location. “But there are going to be some different elements at this store. There’s going to be more of a self-serve vibe, where customers can help themselves to a little bit more than they’re used to doing.”
The Upper St. Clair resident is looking forward to a much shorter commute and continuing with Whole Foods Market.
“It’s a great company to work for,” she said. “They really treat you like family. You’re not just an employee there. You’re a team member. And that’s why we always say, ‘team members.’ We’re not managing anything. We’re leading and helping to develop careers.”
Dill said that he has hired about 170 team members for the South Hills store, including those like Hendricks, Murray and Rump who have transferred from existing stores.
“I’d say about 130 are brand new to Whole Foods Market,” he said. “So now my job is to get them acclimated and let them know what the expectations are.”
They’ll have the opportunity to greet customers and show them around the store during a Jan. 22 preview.
“The tours give us a really nice opportunity to walk people through the store and kind of introduce them not only to the store, physically, but the mission and the values behind it,” said Annie Cull, senior public relations specialist.
Those who want to attend the preview can sign up at southhills.wholefoodsrsvp.com. And they can return at 8:45 three days later, when everything becomes official.
“We do a quick ceremony to welcome the community and thank the team members who have been a part of building the store,” Cull said, explaining that customers will be greeted by five-foot-long loaves of bread. “We invite them to rip off a piece and break the bread with us. And we do that across the country, at every store.”
For more information about Whole Foods Market, visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com.